In Vg1 one of the requirements for a passing grade is that “eleven kan i noen grad bruke variert setningsbygging”.
If all or most sentences have roughly the same number of words, the text often becomes monotonous. Therefore variation in sentence length is a basic, but important factor.
Repetition of the first word in sentences is usually a bad idea as it can distract the reader.
Read through a text you have written to check if you have overused any words. It is easy to repeat short, common words such as “very”, but there are many synonyms to choose from: extremely, awfully, incredibly, dreadfully, etc.
A text which is dominated by this sentence type will often become boring to read. Therefore it is important to introduce some variety. Starting some sentences with an adverbial or an adverbial clause is one way of doing this.
A good text will usually contain a mixture of all of these sentence types, even though the writer will probably not be aware of the labels.
For example:
We arrived at the hotel. We unpacked and had a rest.
After arriving at the hotel, we unpacked and had a rest.<(p>
These should not be overused, but they may be used as a special effect. Because they stand out. But beware, they should be used very sparingly!
Simple to complex
Combine the short, simple sentences to form one long, complex sentence.
For each set of simple sentences, write two versions, placing the simple sentences in a different order.
Example:
A farmer found three starving fox cubs. He took them to an animal hospital. This surprised the vets. Most farmers hate foxes.
Version 1:
A farmer found three starving fox cubs and took them to an animal hospital, which surprised the vets, as most farmers hate foxes.
Version 2:
A farmer surprised the vets when he went to an animal hospital with three starving fox cubs he had found, because most farmers hate foxes.
Now do the same with these: